Baseball de-slicking apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A baseball is desirably blasted with an abrasive material to attain a sufficient level of de-slicking. Baseballs are desirably delivered one at a time to a support and rotated while being sprayed with abrasive material from plural directions. Used abrasive material may be collected and recycled for reuse. Baseballs in a hopper are delivered one at a time in one embodiment to a support by selectively aligning an opening in a rotatable hopper element with an opening in a second element to permit the passage of a baseball through the second element and to the support at an appropriate time. Desirably, baseballs are ejected from the support following de-slicking, such as using an ejection lever or wand that is actuated by a timing rod to eject the baseball from the support ahead of the delivery of the next baseball to the support.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for de-slickingbaseballs.

BACKGROUND

Currently, before every major league and minor league baseball game, 70to 120 new baseballs have to be “rubbed-up” with a mud product (anabrasive). This is done to de-slick the new baseballs and to provide auniform surface finish on the baseball for more predictable flight. Themud must be applied in such a way that the color of the baseball is nottoo dark and is even. Historically, each of these baseballs is rubbed-upby hand by a member of the home team's staff or by a game umpire. Theproduct used to rub-up the balls is Lena Blackbume mud, extracted nearthe Delaware River. This type of mud has been used to rub-up baseballsto take the shine off them since 1938. So far, no other product has beenable to produce the same results as Lena Blackburne mud. Although themud is very effective, the way in which it is applied to rub-upbaseballs is very tedious and unpleasant. Because every major leagueteam plays in more than 160 games in one season, significant time isrequired to prepare the large quantity of baseballs needed for game use.

SUMMARY

There is therefore a need for an automated or semi-automated baseballrubbing machine to minimize the requirements of the human labor, speedup the baseball rubbing process, and to enhance the quality ofrubbed-baseballs.

In accordance with one aspect of an embodiment, an apparatus is providedfor mechanically de-slicking new baseballs to provide a more consistentsurface finish and color to the baseball. Desirably, the apparatusde-slicks baseballs by spraying a treatment material onto the baseballsurface, such as like a sandblaster. One option for this treatmentmaterial is a mixture of dried mud, such as Lena Blackburne mud, andglass beads or sand.

In accordance with one specific example, a baseball support is providedthat is operable to turn a baseball positioned on the support. Turningincludes, but is not limited to, rotating the baseball on the support orotherwise moving the baseball to reorient the baseball on the support toshift different surfaces of the baseball to different positions. Inaccordance with this embodiment, an abrasive material applicator ispositioned to spray abrasive material at the baseball at least during aportion of the time the baseball is being turned. Desirably, theabrasive material is sprayed at the baseball from a plurality ofdirections.

In one desirable form, the apparatus comprises a baseball singulatoroperable to deliver one baseball to the support at a time. A pluralityof supports may be provided with baseballs being delivered one at a timeto each of the supports with baseballs on each of the supports beingturned and roughened by spraying abrasive material onto the baseballssimultaneously. Any number of baseballs may be simultaneously treated inthis manner.

An exemplary singulator comprises a baseball hopper having a baseballreceiving interior space; a first member supported for rotation relativeto the hopper, the first member comprising a baseball receivingpassageway having an inlet opening communicating with the baseballreceiving interior space and an outlet opening; a second member defininga baseball delivery opening positioned in alignment with the outletopening of the baseball receiving passageway when the first member isrotated to a baseball delivery position, such that a first baseballpositioned at least partially within the passageway may pass through thebaseball delivery opening. The exemplary singulator may also comprise astop (a projection) positioned to block the passage of any baseballsfrom the hopper into the passageway other than the first baseball whenthe rotatable member is in the baseball delivery position. In thisexample, one baseball is delivered at a time from the hopper.

In accordance with another aspect, a speed adjuster may be used toadjust the speed of rotation of the rotatable member to thereby adjustthe rate of delivery of baseballs to the baseball delivery opening.

Desirably, the first member has a baseball guiding surface that iscontoured to guide any baseballs in the hopper toward the inlet openingof the baseball receiving passageway. For example, the guiding surfacemay be generally conical so as to guide baseballs toward the outerperiphery of the hopper with the hopper, for example, being a rightcylinder with an upright longitudinal axis. As the rotatable firstmember is rotated, in this example the inlet opening interceptsbaseballs and carries them to the outlet opening for delivery throughthe baseball delivery opening when the first member is in the baseballdelivery position.

The first member desirably comprises a ball engaging surface of aresilient material, such as of a high density foam or other polymericmaterial, so as to not mark or mar the baseballs as they shift withinthe hopper.

In one specific embodiment, the support for supporting a baseball fortreatment with abrasive comprises plural elongated rollers each with alongitudinal axis and each being supported for rotation about itsrespective longitudinal axis. The longitudinal axes of the rollers maybe parallel to one another with each of the rollers being rotated in thesame direction about its respective longitudinal axis. The rollers maybe contoured (e.g., of a reduced diameter in the center of the rollers),such that a baseball positioned between the rotating rollers remains inposition as the abrasive material is sprayed at the baseball with thebaseball being turned by the rollers as the rollers rotate.

An ejector mechanism is desirably included for selectively removing abaseball from the support following de-slicking of the baseball by theabrasive material. In one specific form, the ejector comprises abaseball ejecting wand with first and second end portions. The ejectorwand is pivotally supported in this example for movement between a firstwand position and a second baseball ejecting wand position. When thebaseball ejecting wand is shifted to the second baseball ejecting wandposition, the second end portion of the baseball ejecting wand pushes abaseball positioned on the support toward a location off of the support.A chute or other delivery mechanism may be used to carry the baseball,when ejected off the support, to a storage location, such as to a drawerof the apparatus. A biasing mechanism, such as a biasing spring coupledto the ejecting wand may be used to bias the baseball ejecting wandtoward the first wand position. In a mechanically simple approach, atiming rod may be coupled to the first member for rotation with therotation of the first member. The timing rod may be positioned to engagethe first end portion of the baseball ejecting wand as the first memberrotates so as to pivot the baseball ejecting wand from the firstposition to the second baseball ejecting position at the appropriatetime for ejecting a baseball from the support and prior to delivery ofthe next baseball to the support. The baseball ejecting wand desirablyreturns to the first position prior to delivery of another baseball tothe support for spraying with abrasive material.

The apparatus also comprises an abrasive material applicator. In oneform, the applicator comprises an air compressor for providing a sourceof pressurized air, a conduit coupled to the air compressor throughwhich pressurized air flows from an air inlet to an outlet, and a siphonor suction tube coupled to the conduit and having an abrasive materialinlet positioned relative to abrasive material such that air flowingthrough the conduit creates a vacuum and draws abrasive material intothe flowing air stream for exiting with the pressurized air through theoutlet. One or more hoses, desirably a plurality of hoses, carries theabrasive material to the appropriate position or positions for sprayingat the baseball. A separate blasting mechanism of this type may be usedfor each abrasive material delivery hose that is used in the apparatus.An abrasive material recycling bin may be provided for collectingabrasive material following the spraying of such material at a baseballwith the abrasive material inlet being in communication with therecycling bin for drawing abrasive material from the abrasive materialrecycling bin into air flowing through the conduit.

Methods of applying abrasive material to baseballs are also disclosedherein with such methods being apparent from the disclosure.

Also, baseballs that have been de-slicked in the manner disclosed hereinare also encompassed within this disclosure.

It should be noted that the invention is directed toward all new andnon-obvious features and method acts disclosed herein, both alone and invarious combinations and sub-combinations with one another. The methodis not limited to the specific illustrated embodiments nor to aninvention that solves all of the problems of the prior art. Also, theterms “a”, “an”, or “the” when used herein are not limited to thesingular. The presence of two or more of a particular feature or elementmeans that a, an, or the element or feature is also present.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an apparatus forde-slicking baseballs in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a form of the apparatus of FIG. 1 withexterior housing panels being removed to reveal an exemplary frame andinternal components of this form of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, much like that of FIG. 2, except with theframe components being removed for convenience.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a portion of an exemplary ejectormechanism embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one form of a baseball turning apparatusand abrasive material supply system usable in the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the baseball turning apparatus of theform shown in FIG. 5 and also showing a portion of one form of abaseball ejector mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an exemplary abrasive material deliverycircuit that may be included in the apparatus, although an aircompressor using the apparatus may be a separate component positionedoutside of the housing.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, looking from below, of an exemplary hopperassembly portion of the apparatus together with a portion of a baseballdischarge conduit coupled to the hopper assembly and also showing atiming wand useful in triggering one form of a baseball ejectormechanism.

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 8 that alsoschematically illustrates an exemplary motor arrangement for rotating arotatable member of the hopper assembly of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the hopper assembly of FIG. 8, with thebaseball discharge conduit and rotatable member supporting shaft removedfor clarification.

FIG. 11 is a top view of a portion of the hopper assembly of FIG. 8 witha rotatable member of the hopper assembly embodiment removed.

FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view through the hopper assembly of FIG.8 with the shaft that supports the rotatable member being removed andwith only a portion of the discharge conduit being shown.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged photograph showing a portion of the surface of anew un-de-slicked baseball with the baseball surface being magnified bya factor of fifty.

FIG. 14 is a photograph of a portion of the surface of a baseballfollowing treatment by the apparatus of FIG. 3 with the baseball surfacebeing magnified by a factor of fifty.

FIG. 15 is a photograph of a portion of the surface of a baseball thathas been treated by hand rubbing in accordance with the conventionalapproach with the baseball surface being magnified by a factor of fifty.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary housing for one embodiment of a baseballde-slicking apparatus. The illustrated housing is indicated generally at10 and comprises front and rear panels 12,14 and first and second sidepanels 16,18. The illustrated housing 10 also comprises a lid portion 20that may be pivoted to housing framework for pivotal movement betweenopen and closed positions in the directions indicated by arrow 22. Whenopen as shown in FIG. 1, access is provided to a hopper opening 24through which new (un-de-slicked) baseballs may be deposited into abaseball receiving hopper assembly 26 located at the upper end of thehousing. A drawer 28, having a handle 30, is also shown in FIG. 1 in anopen position. De-slicked baseballs are deposited by the apparatus intothe interior 32 of the drawer following de-slicking. The illustrateddrawer may slide inwardly and outwardly in the directions indicated byarrow 34 to permit ready access for removal of the de-slicked baseballsand closing of the drawer to receive additional de-slicked baseballs.

The front panel 12 also desirably comprises a control panel section 40with appropriate controls for the apparatus such as a power on/offswitch 42, a compressed air valve control switch 44, a baseball turningapparatus control switch 46, a hopper rotation control switch 48, and ahopper speed control switch 50. In embodiments where a compressor ispositioned externally to the housing 10, a compressed air inlet port 52may be provided through which pressurized air from the compressor may bedelivered to appropriate tubing and/or piping inside the apparatus.Although not shown in FIG. 1, an abrasive material supply inlet withopening 54 (that is typically closed when the apparatus is in use) isprovided for use in charging the apparatus with fresh abrasive material.In addition, if desired to replace the abrasive material contained inthe housing 10, a vacuum or other abrasive material remover may beinserted through opening 54 to vacuum out abrasive material contained inthe housing.

FIG. 2 illustrates the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the panels 12,14,16 and18 removed to show an exemplary frame 60 that may be used to support thevarious components within the apparatus. In FIG. 2, the lid 20 anddrawer 28 are both shown in a closed position. In FIG. 2, the hopperassembly 26, in the form shown, comprises an upright hopper cylinder 64that may comprise a right cylinder having a vertical longitudinal axis.The hopper 64 may be fixedly mounted to the frame so as to not moverelative to the frame. Alternatively, the hopper may be movable, such asbeing rotatably mounted to the frame with selected other componentsbeing fixed. A second, or base member 66, is positioned beneath hopper64 and is desirably supported by portions of the frame 60, such as by aframe cross-member 68. Base 66 in a desirable embodiment is disk-likewith planar upper and lower surfaces and is fixed in place so as to notbe moveable relative to the frame. Base 66 includes or defines abaseball delivery opening (not shown in FIG. 2 but indicated at 80 inFIGS. 10 and 12) to which a baseball discharge or guide, such as aconduit 82, is coupled for the purpose of guiding a baseball from thehopper assembly 26 to a baseball support. One exemplary embodiment of asuitable support is indicated generally at 86 in FIG. 2. A baseball 90is turned on the support while abrasive material is being applied to thebaseball by an abrasive material applicator, such as by an exemplaryapplicator 92 described below in connection with FIGS. 5 and 7. Anejector mechanism, one embodiment being indicated generally at 96 inFIG. 2, and described in greater detail below, is provided for ejectingor removing a baseball 90 from the support 86 following de-slicking. Forexample, a baseball may be ejected or pushed into a baseball dischargetube or conduit 98 (see FIG. 3) for delivery from an inlet 100 of theconduit to an outlet 102 of the conduit and to the interior 32 of thedrawer 28. The inlet 100 may comprise an arcuate back stop 101positioned to intercept a baseball being ejected from the support 86 andto direct the intercepted baseball into the main portion of conduit 98.

Desirably, abrasive material that is sprayed at the baseball 90 iscollected following use for recycling. For example, a recycling bin 106may be supported by frame components, such as by a rectangular frame 108in FIG. 2, in position beneath the support 86 for collecting the sprayedabrasive material. The bin 106 may, for example, be of an invertedfrusto-pyramidal shape or of any other desirable shape. The bin may beprovided with a lower discharge opening that is selectively opened todeposit used abrasive material into the drawer for removal. The recycledmaterial collected in bin 106 may be picked up by the abrasive materialdelivery system in the apparatus for reuse in blasting baseballs. Theabrasive material supply inlet 54 to a conduit 110 (both being shown indashed lines in FIG. 2) may be used for supplying fresh abrasivematerial to bin 106 as desired. FIG. 3 also shows the componentsdiscussed above in connection with FIG. 2, but without the frame 60. Itshould be noted that a seal may be provided between base 66 and thesupport 86 to prevent abrasive material dust from passing upwardly intothe apparatus. This assists in confining the abrasive material to thebaseball blasting area of the apparatus. Also, an exhaust vent may beprovided for venting pressurized air from the blasting area with afilter or other dust capturing device being used to capture any dustescaping with the air.

One form of support 86 for supporting and turning a baseball, desirablyduring at least a portion of the time that abrasive material is beingsprayed at the baseball, is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Desirably, thebaseball is being continuously turned for the entire time abrasivematerial is being applied to thereby continuously reorient the baseballon the support so as to present different surfaces of the baseballtoward pressurized sources of abrasive material as the baseball is beingtreated. With reference to these figures, cross-members, such asparallel support bars 150,152, are supported at their respective opposedends by a border portion 154 of the recycling bin 106. Bars 150,152carry first and second spaced apart end support brackets 162,164 thatare provided for supporting respective first and second rollerassemblies 166,168. The roller assemblies 166,168 are supported by thebrackets 162,164 for rotation about respective longitudinal axes thatare desirably parallel to and spaced apart from one another. The axes inthe illustrated embodiment are desirably in a common horizontal plane.More specifically, the illustrated brackets 162,164 each comprise a baseportion 170 that spans the distance between supports 150,152 andrespective upright leg portions 172,174. A reinforcing cross-piece 176extends between the leg portions 170,172. Roller assembly 166 comprisesan elongated axle 180 having end portions that are rotatably mounted tothe respective bracket legs 172 of brackets 162,164. Roller assembly 166also comprises a ball supporting cushioning roller 182, such as of adurable material with ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene being onespecific example. Roller 182 is mounted to axle 180 for rotation withthe axle. Similarly, roller assembly 168 comprises an elongated axle 190rotatably mounted at its respective end portions to the respectivebracket legs 174 of the brackets 162,164. Roller assembly 168 alsodesirably comprises a ball supporting roller 192, that may be identicalto roller 182. The rollers 182 and 192 desirably are contoured so as toassist in retaining a baseball 90 in position on the rollers as therollers are rotated. For example, the rollers may be reduced in diametermoving from an outer end portion of each roller toward the center ofeach roller to assist in centering the ball on the rollers as therollers turn. Sealed bearings may be used to mount the roller axles tothe respective brackets.

In the illustrated embodiment, the ends of axles 180,190 projectoutwardly beyond the bracket 162 as shown in FIG. 6 with axle 180supporting a pulley 200 and axle 190 supporting a pulley 202. A motor204, having a motor drive pulley 206, is drivenly coupled to therespective pulleys 200,202, such as by a belt 208, for rotating therollers 182,192 as the motor is driven. Desirably the rollers 182,192are rotated in the same direction, such as counterclockwise in FIG. 6,as indicated by arrows 210,211 in this figure. The motor 204 may beturned on and off by the switch 46 on the control panel (FIG. 1) that isincluded in a motor control circuit for motor 204.

An abrasive material support for supporting a plurality of abrasivematerial applicators may be supported by the respective brackets162,164. For example, one exemplary support is indicated at 213 in FIG.5 and comprises respective first and second parallel spaced apartupright legs 214,215 together with a top-piece 216 extending between theupper end portions of legs 214,215. Thus, the illustrated support 213 isa header that is generally of an inverted U-shaped configuration. Thelower portions of legs 214,215 in this embodiment are mounted, such asby fasteners, to the respective bracket cross-pieces 176.

Although other forms of abrasive material supply mechanisms may be used(e.g., a pressurized pot abrasive material supply device), in theillustrated embodiment, an air siphon or suction abrasive materialblaster is desirably used. In the embodiment shown, pressurized air isdelivered, as indicated by arrow 240 in FIG. 5, to an inlet to a conduit242. Conduit 242 may be connected to the port 52 (see FIG. 1), throughwhich pressurized air may be supplied to the apparatus. A valve (notshown in FIG. 5, but indicated at 272 in FIG. 7) may be placed at theinlet to conduit 242 to block the entry of pressurized air from a source(such as from an air compressor, e.g. 270 in FIG. 7) until desiredtimes. A suction or venturi tube 244 (FIG. 5) in this embodiment extendsdownwardly into the abrasive material supply bin 106. As pressurized airflows through conduit 242 from the inlet to this conduit, abrasivematerial is drawn upwardly into the air stream by the vacuum created inconduit 244. This abrasive material containing air under pressure inthis example reaches a three-way distribution connection 246, where theair/abrasive material flow is split to pass into branch lines 248,250and 252. Branch lines 248,250 and 252 may, for example, be conventionalsand blasting hoses, such as with an outside diameter of one-half inchand an inside diameter of approximately one-fourth inch. The airpressure for air entering line 240 may be varied with 90 psi being aspecific example. The abrasive baseball treatment material is deliveredto the baseball 90 from branch line 248 through an outlet 260, frombranch line 250 through an outlet 262 (shown in dashed lines in FIG. 5),and from branch line 252 through an outlet 264. Thus, in the illustratedembodiment, pressurized air containing the abrasive material is sprayedat the baseball from plural directions. More specifically, in FIG. 5,the baseball is supported between outlets 260,262 which direct theabrasive material containing air toward the baseball in respectiveopposite directions. In addition, outlet 264, in this example, directsair containing abrasive material toward the baseball in a direction thatis orthogonal to the directions from outlets 260,262. It has been foundin testing that nozzles, although they may be used, are not necessary atthe outlets.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates the abrasive material delivery systemdescribed above. In FIG. 7, an air compressor 270 is shown. In addition,an air flow valve 272 is shown downstream of inlet port 52 and upstreamof suction tube 244. Valve 272 may be solenoid controlled in response toa switch 44 that is selectively coupled to a voltage source 274 to, forexample, open valve 272 when switch 44 is closed. In FIG. 7, abrasivematerial 290 is shown in the interior of bin 206.

The abrasive material 290 may be any suitable material or materialmixture. However, desirably the abrasive material comprises dried mudsuch as dried Lena Blackburne mud. In addition, more desirably, theabrasive material comprises a mixture of the dried mud and otherabrasive material, such as glass beads or sand. The particle size of theglass beads and sand may be varied as well as the concentration of themud in the glass bead/sand/mud mix. For example, the mud may compriseten to fifty percent of the mixture of mud and abrasive particles. Inproducing the baseball of FIG. 14, a mixture of 25 percent mud and 75percent glass beads having a microparticle size of 0.5 to 1.0 mm wasused. In addition, this specific mixture was applied at 90 psi for atime period of about 30 seconds. The pressure, mud abrasive mix and timeperiod during which a baseball is treated may be adjusted to achieve thedesired results.

Baseballs treated in this manner had mud that is consistently moreuniformly distributed over the surface of the baseball and a more eventexture in comparison to baseballs that are de-slicked by hand. FIG. 13illustrates a portion of the surface of a new un-de-slicked baseball.FIG. 15 illustrates a portion of the surface of a hand rubbed baseball.The dirt particles are more uniformly distributed on the baseball ofFIG. 14 than on the baseball of FIG. 15.

Desirably, baseballs are positioned on the rollers 182,192 (or othersupport) and removed from the rollers automatically, althoughsemi-automatic and less desirably manual approaches may be used. Inaddition, various electronically operated mechanisms to achieve thedesired timing and to deliver and remove baseballs may be used. However,in one desirable form, a mechanical ejector mechanism is provided topush a baseball off the rollers following de-slicking and prior to thearrival of the next baseball on the rollers.

In a specific exemplary embodiment, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6, theillustrated form of ejector mechanism 96 comprises an ejector wand 300comprising a first end portion 302 and a second end portion 304. Endportion 302 is pivoted, such as by a pin 306, to a projection 308extending from the underside of top-piece 216 of the sand blasting hosesupporting header bracket 213. The axis of pin 306 is parallel totop-piece 216 in the illustrated embodiment. The first end portion 302of ejector wand 300 also comprises a timing rod engaging surface, inthis case an arcuate surface 310 that extends upwardly in FIG. 6 fromthe pin 306. In this example, surface 310 extends over a portion oftop-piece 216 but is spaced from the top-piece when the ejector wand israised. In addition, end portion 304 of ejector wand 300 comprises aball ejecting tip 312 that extends downwardly in FIG. 6 from a baseportion 314 of the ball ejecting wand 300. In the position shown in FIG.6, ball ejecting wand 300 is in a raised position where it does notinterfere with the delivery of a ball to the rollers 182, 192.Desirably, the wand is biased to this first or upward position by abiasing mechanism, such as a torsional or other spring. An exemplaryspring is shown schematically at 316 in FIG. 6.

As explained in greater detail below, the hopper assembly 26 in the formshown comprises a rotatable shaft 340 shown in FIGS. 4,8 and 9. As canbe seen in FIG. 9, a motor 342 (shown schematically in FIG. 9) drives adrive pulley 344 in rotation with the drive pulley being coupled, suchas by a belt 346 to a pulley 348 mounted to the shaft 340. As the motoroperates, it drives the shaft 340 in rotation, such as in a clockwisedirection shown by the arrow 350 in FIG. 4. The motor 342 may be avariable speed motor such as a voltage controlled motor, with the motorbeing supplied with voltage from source 352 via the switch 48 (whenclosed). A speed adjustment mechanism 50, such as a rheostat, isprovided in the circuit leading from the voltage source to the motor forcontrolling the motor speed. As a result, the speed of rotation of themotor and of the shaft 340 may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly asdesired. A timing wand 360 is shown mounted to the shaft 340. The timingrod in this embodiment is capable of 360 degree rotation with therotation of shaft 340. A horizontal slot 364 is provided in thedischarge tube 82 to provide clearance for passage of timing wand 360 asit rotates past the discharge conduit 82. Another slot 365, vertical inFIG. 8, allows for passage of the ejector wand 300 between raised andlowered positions.

With reference to FIG. 4A, as shaft 340 is rotated, timing wand 360engages the arcuate surface 310 of baseball ejecting wand 300. Asrotation of shaft 340 continues, the timing wand 360 travels along thearcuate surface 310 and urges the ball ejecting wand 300 downwardly, inthe direction of arrow 370 in FIG. 4A, about the pivot axis of pin 306.The ball ejecting wand 300 travels downwardly until such time as tip 312(FIG. 6) engages the ball and pushes the ball in a direction off of theball support. The direction of rotation of the rotating roller 182assists the ejection of the baseball 90 from support 86. As the shaft340 continues to rotate, the timing wand 360 eventually clears the end372 of end portion 302 of the baseball ejecting wand 300 so that thebaseball ejecting wand 300 can return to its raised non-baseballejecting position. This process is repeated in this embodiment each timethe shaft 340 makes one rotation.

As previously mentioned, a singulator is desirably provided fordelivering one baseball at a time to the support mechanism 86. It is, ofcourse, possible to simply place baseballs manually one at a time ontothe support, although an automatic or semi-automatic operation is moredesirable. One specific form of a singulator is provided by theillustrated design of hopper assembly 26 shown in FIGS. 8-12. In thesefigures, a stop 382 is shown mounted to the interior surface of hoppercylinder 64 at a location above the baseball delivery opening 80 throughbase 66. More specifically, in the illustrated form, the stop 382comprises a projecting rod that overhangs opening 80. Other devices orprojections may be used as the stop.

FIG. 12 illustrates hopper assembly 26 with a plurality of baseballs90,90′ shown positioned within the interior baseball receiving space ofhopper cylinder 64 of this embodiment. In the illustrated hopperassembly 26, a rotatable member 386 is positioned at least partiallywithin a lower portion of cylinder 64. Rotatable member 386 may berotatably supported by the upper surface of base 66, such as by circularroller bearings 388. The member 386 is desirably mounted to the shaft340 for rotation with the rotation of the shaft. The rotatable member386 comprises an upper surface 390, a lower surface 392, and apassageway 394 extending between the upper and lower surfaces. Thepassageway 394 includes an upwardly facing baseball receiving inletopening 396 leading to the passageway and a lower outlet opening 398.The passageway has a diameter that is desirably slightly greater thanthe diameter of a baseball.

In the illustrated embodiment, the inlet opening 396 is positionedadjacent to the interior surface of the wall of cylinder 64. Inaddition, the upper surface 390 of rotatable member 386 is contoured todirect baseballs toward the opening 396. More specifically, surface 390in the illustrated embodiment is generally conical in shape so as tourge baseballs toward the periphery of the rotatable member 386. Othershapes or contours may be used to direct baseballs to the inlet to thepassageway. Also, more than one passageway (and more than one openingthrough base 66) may be provided to deliver baseballs to plural supportsif desired. Consequently, as rotatable member 386 rotates, the opening396 encounters any baseballs remaining in the hopper 64 so that one ofsuch baseballs may drop into the passageway 394 if the passageway isunoccupied at the time it intercepts a baseball. Although variable,desirably the depth of the passageway is at least equal to one-half thediameter of a baseball and more desirably the depth of passageway 194approximates the diameter of the baseball. Consequently, only onebaseball may fit partially (or more desirably) entirely within thepassageway in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12. As the rotatable member386 rotates, eventually the outlet opening 398 becomes aligned with thebaseball receiving opening 80 through base 66 and thereby with thedischarge conduit 82. In this case, the baseball in the passageway willdrop through opening 80 and will be directed by conduit 82 to a locationon the rollers 182,192 that comprises the baseball support in thisexample. Because stop 382 is positioned above opening 80, as baseball 90drops through opening 80 and conduit 82, the stop 382 prevents otherbaseballs from immediately passing into the passageway 394 where theycould also drop toward the support. As a result, only one baseball at atime is delivered to the support. The height of stop 382 above the uppersurface 390 may be adjusted to permit only a single baseball inpassageway 394 (or partially in such passageway) to pass underneath thestop 386 while blocking the passage of other baseballs. After baseball90 is delivered through opening 80, continued rotation of member 86exposes the inlet 396 to passageway 394 for intercepting and receivinganother baseball from the hopper. The next received baseball will remainin passageway 394 until the member 386 is again aligned with opening 80,at which time the next baseball drops toward the support. The timingwand 360 is positioned on shaft 340 so that a baseball is ejected fromthe support and the baseball ejecting wand 300 returns to its uprightposition prior to the next alignment of outlet 398 of passageway 394with baseball delivery opening 80.

As previously mentioned, rotatable member 386 may be made of anysuitable durable material that does not mar baseballs. Examples includehigh density foam, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, a polymericmaterial such as sold under the brand name Delrin, and other suitablematerials. The shaft 340 may be provided with a clearance fit withrespect to an opening through base 66 that accommodates the shaft.Alternatively, the shaft 340 may be coupled to base 366 by a bearing toassist in centering the rotation of the rotational member 386 about thelongitudinal axis of the hopper assembly.

Having illustrated and described the principles of our invention withrespect to various embodiments, it should be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art that this invention may be modified inarrangement and detail without departing from the inventive principlesdisclosed herein. We claim as our invention all such principles as fallwithin the scope and spirit of the following claims.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus for de-slicking a baseball using an abrasivematerial, the apparatus comprising: a baseball support operable to turna baseball positioned on the support; and an abrasive materialapplicator positioned to direct a spray of abrasive material at thebaseball at least during a portion of the time the baseball is beingturned.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 comprising a baseballsingulator operable to deliver one baseball to the support at a time. 3.An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the singulator comprises: abaseball hopper comprising a baseball receiving interior space; a firstmember supported for rotation relative to the hopper, the first membercomprising a baseball receiving passageway having an inlet openingcommunicating with the baseball receiving interior space and an outletopening; a second member defining a baseball delivery opening positionedfor alignment with the outlet opening of the baseball receivingpassageway when the first member is rotated to a baseball deliveryposition, whereby a first baseball positioned at least partially withinthe passageway may pass through the passageway, the outlet opening andthe baseball delivery opening being aligned when the rotatable member isin the baseball delivery position; and a stop positioned to block thepassage of any baseballs other than the first baseball from the hopperinto the passageway when the rotatable member is in the baseballdelivery position.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3 furthercomprising a speed adjuster operable to adjust the speed of rotation ofthe rotatable member to thereby adjust the rate of delivery of baseballsto the baseball delivery opening.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 3wherein the first member has a baseball guiding surface that iscontoured to guide any baseballs in the hopper toward the inlet openingof the baseball receiving passageway.
 6. An apparatus according to claim3 wherein the hopper comprises a right cylinder having an uprightlongitudinal axis and an interior wall surface, wherein the first memberhas upper and lower surfaces and is positioned at least partially in alower region of the hopper and is rotatable about the longitudinal axisof the hopper, wherein the inlet opening opens upwardly through theupper surface of the first member, the outlet opening opens downwardlythrough the lower surface of the first member, wherein the passagewayextends through the first member and wherein the inlet opening ispositioned adjacent to the interior wall surface of the hopper, whereinthe upper surface of the rotatable member is generally conical such thatany baseballs in the hopper tend to move toward the interior wallsurface where a baseball can be intercepted by the inlet opening to thepassageway as the first member rotates, the stop being positioned atleast partially above the inlet opening when the first member is in thebaseball delivery position, the depth of the passageway and the spacingof the stop above the inlet opening when the first member is in thebaseball delivery position being established such that only a singlebaseball positioned at least partially in the passageway may pass underthe stop as the first member is moved to the baseball delivery position.7. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the support comprisesplural elongated rollers each with a longitudinal axis and each beingsupported for rotation about their respective longitudinal axis, thelongitudinal axes of the rollers being parallel to one another, therollers being rotated in the same direction about their respectivelongitudinal axes, the rollers being contoured such that a baseballpositioned between the rotating rollers remains in such position asabrasive material is sprayed at the baseball.
 8. An apparatus accordingto claim 7 further comprising an ejector operable to selectively removea baseball from the support following de-slicking of the baseball by theabrasive material.
 9. An apparatus according to claim 7 comprising anejector mechanism operable to eject a baseball from the supportingrollers, the ejector mechanism comprising a baseball ejecting wandhaving first and second end portions and being pivotally supported formovement between a first wand position and a second baseball ejectingwand position, wherein when shifted to the second baseball ejecting wandposition, the second end portion of the baseball ejecting wand pushesthe baseball positioned on the support to a location off of the support,a biasing mechanism coupled to the wand and operable to bias thebaseball ejecting wand toward the first wand position, a timing rodcoupled to the first member for rotation with the rotation of the firstmember, the timing rod being positioned to engage the first end portionof the baseball ejecting wand as the first member rotates so as to pivotthe baseball ejecting wand from the first position to the secondbaseball ejecting position, the timing rod moving past the first endportion of the baseball ejecting wand following the ejection of thebaseball to a location off of the support to thereby allow the baseballejecting wand to return to the first position so as to not interferewith the delivery of another baseball to the support for spraying withabrasive material.
 10. An apparatus according to claim 9 wherein thefirst end portion of the baseball ejecting wand comprises an arcuatetiming rod engaging surface, the timing rod engaging and traveling alongthe timing rod engaging surface as the rotatable member is rotated withthe timing rod pushing the baseball ejecting wand to the second baseballejecting portion position as the timing rod travels along the timing rodengaging surface.
 11. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which theabrasive material applicator directs pressurized air and abrasivematerial from a plurality of directions toward a baseball positioned onthe support.
 12. An apparatus to claim 11 wherein the abrasive materialapplicator comprises an air compressor for providing a source ofpressurized air, a first conduit coupled to the air compressor throughwhich pressurized air flows from an air inlet to an air outlet, asuction tube coupled to the first conduit and comprising an abrasivematerial inlet positioned relative to abrasive material such that airflowing through the first conduit from the air inlet to the air outlet,draws abrasive material into the flowing air that exits the air outlet,and at least one hose coupled to the air outlet for carrying the mixtureof air and abrasive material to a position for delivery at the baseball.13. An apparatus according to claim 12 comprising an abrasive materialrecycling bin for collecting abrasive material following the spraying ofsuch material at a baseball, the abrasive material inlet being incommunication with the recycling bin for drawing the abrasive materialfrom the abrasive material recycling bin into air flowing through theventuri.
 14. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the abrasivematerial comprises a glass bead and dried mud mixture.
 15. A baseballde-slicked by the apparatus of claim
 1. 16. An apparatus for de-slickinga baseball using an abrasive material, the apparatus comprising: abaseball support operable to turn a baseball positioned on the support;an abrasive material applicator positioned to spray abrasive material atthe baseball at least during a portion of the time the baseball is beingturned; a baseball singulator operable to deliver one baseball to thesupport at a time; and an ejector operable to selectively engage abaseball positioned on the support to remove the baseball from thesupport.
 17. An apparatus according to claim 16 comprising an abrasivematerial recycling bin for collecting abrasive material following thespraying of such material at a baseball.
 18. An apparatus according toclaim 16 wherein the singulator comprises: a baseball hopper comprisinga baseball receiving interior space; a first member supported forrotation relative to the hopper, the first member comprising a baseballreceiving passageway having an inlet opening communicating with thebaseball receiving interior space and an outlet opening; a second fixedmember comprising a baseball delivery opening positioned for alignmentwith the outlet opening of the baseball receiving passageway when therotatable member is rotated to a baseball delivery position, whereby afirst baseball positioned at least partially within the passageway maypass through the passageway, the outlet opening and the baseballdelivery opening when the first member is in the baseball deliveryposition; a stop positioned to block the passage of any baseballs otherthan the first baseball from the hopper into the passageway when therotatable member is in the baseball delivery position; wherein thesupport comprises plural elongated rollers each with a longitudinal axisand each being supported for rotation about their respectivelongitudinal axis, the longitudinal axes of the rollers being parallelto one another, the rollers being rotated in the same direction abouttheir respective longitudinal axes, the rollers being contoured suchthat a baseball positioned between the rotating rollers remains in suchposition as abrasive material is sprayed at the baseball; and an ejectormechanism operable to eject a baseball from the supporting rollers, theejector mechanism comprising a baseball ejecting wand having first andsecond end portions and being pivotally supported for movement between afirst wand position and a second baseball ejecting wand position,wherein when shifted to the second baseball ejecting wand position, thesecond end portion of the baseball ejecting wand pushes the baseballpositioned on the support to a location off of the support, a biasingspring coupled to the wand and operable to bias the baseball ejectingwand toward first wand position, a timing rod coupled to the firstmember for rotation with the rotation of the first member, the timingrod being positioned to engage the first end portion of the baseballejecting wand as the first member rotates so as to pivot the baseballejecting wand from the first position to the second baseball ejectingposition, the timing rod moving past the first end portion of thebaseball ejecting wand following the ejection of the baseball to alocation off of the support to thereby allow the baseball ejecting wandto return to the first position so as to not interfere with the deliveryof another baseball to the support for spraying with abrasive material.19. An apparatus according to claim 18 further comprising a speedadjuster operable to adjust the speed of rotation of the rotatablemember to thereby adjust the rate of delivery of baseballs to thebaseball delivery opening, and wherein the first member has a baseballguiding surface which is contoured to guide any baseballs in the hoppertoward the inlet opening of the baseball receiving passageway.
 20. Amethod of de-slicking baseballs comprising: spraying a de-slickingmaterial at a baseball; and turning the baseball at least during aportion of the time while spraying the de-slicking compound at thebaseball.
 21. A method according to claim 20 wherein the de-slickingmaterial comprises an abrasive material.
 22. A method according to claim21 wherein the de-slicking material comprises a mixture of dirt andglass beads.
 23. A method according to claim 22 wherein the dirt is LenaBlackburne mud.
 24. A method according to claim 20 wherein the act ofspraying comprises blasting the baseball with abrasive material from aplurality of directions.
 25. A method according to claim 24 wherein theplurality of directions comprises first and second directions fromopposed locations with the ball supported between said opposed locationsand a third direction orthogonal to the first and second direction. 26.A method according to claim 25 comprising the act of ejecting thede-slicked baseball.
 27. A method according to claim 26 in which the actof turning the baseball comprises the act of rotating the baseball andthe act of applying an abrasive material comprises the act of blastingthe baseball with abrasive material from a plurality of directions.